Why finding work as a tradesperson in a tough market doesn’t have to be so tough.

Finding work can be hard especially if you’re a small business. There’s a lot of cost and time involved. You’re either chucking money into advertising, getting lost on social media and how it all works, or spending hours setting up a website and scouring marketplaces for jobs. Goodnest have put together a few tips and tricks to become more efficient at finding work to save you time, money, and effort.

Get more work from your existing customers

Repeat customers are often considerably more important, than new customers. If you can create loyalty with customers, it can be invaluable to your brand and business. These are the customers that spread word and endorse your business to their friends and family or even their whole extended friends list (if they’re an over sharer on Facebook!). Endorsements are better than any ad you could create. Your loyal customers will be the best form of marketing and your biggest source of revenue. They’re your cash cow because they’ll keep coming back to you. So, how do you create loyal, repeat customers?

There is plenty to it, but it can all be summed up and put into 3 words. Excellent customer service, which encompasses communication, punctuality, and interactions with the customer. Communication

This is key. Are you running late? Previous job went too long? Stuck in traffic? Let them know, they may be waiting on you at their house for you. Letting them know means they won’t be left in the dark.

Customers will see you as honest, forthcoming professional, and dependable, rather than dodgy and unreliable. PunctualityIf you're able to, arrive at the promised time or close to. This goes hand in hand with communication, and if you turn up at the adjusted time, then you’re just as reliable and seen as someone who keeps their word. When you consistently turn up on time you’re showing your competent ability to keep to a schedule, you work efficiently, and you handle yourself as a professional. Turning up hours late without communicating with the customer, gives the impression you’re ill-equipped for your job and can’t manage your time.

Customer InteractionsOnce you arrive at your customer’s premise, be pleasant in your interactions. This can be difficult after a long day or week but a simple smile and conversation will help make everyone feel more comfortable. In the customer’s mind, they’ll see you as cheerful and willing. You don’t want to leave them thinking you hate your job and were unpleasant. Customers value having someone who is nice to them.

Make social media work for you.

If you do however, look after your own marketing and are trying to push yourself out there, or are looking to build an online presence, social media is the place to do it. You can not survive in the current world without being on social media. It’s an invaluable source of customers as you potentially have access to the 74% of New Zealanders, and 69% of Australians who use social media. Below are our top tips and tricks.

Have social media accounts and pages dedicated to your business.

By having social media pages dedicated to your business, you’ll be able to have a place focused on promoting your brand. On top of this, by having business pages you are able to create advertisements that will help you reach potential customers.

Social media ads

Posting on your business accounts can take up time and is a form of organic marketing where there are no paid promotions or ads. The other side of social media are the paid advertisements.

Mentioned before, putting your ads to show up in front of potential customers is a fantastic marketing ability. Don’t spend thousands on radio ads that have a slim chance of reaching your target audience. Put together ads that reach your target audience with scary accuracy. This can be done within the ad manager section of business pages on social media accounts.

Post consistently and engage with your audience.

This is important due to the way a lot of social media algorithms work. If you post consistently, engagement from your audience increases and you are likely to build an audience. Every social media website has different algorithms.

Facebook bases what it shows users on meaningfulness (posts from friends and family) and what generates conversation (topical discussions or engaging content worth looking at).

Instagram bases what it shows users on the popularity of the post (how much interaction it is getting compared to how many people are seeing the post) and the relationship you have with the poster.

Twitter bases what it shows users on time posted and relevance to the user to ensure the most up to date, relevant content is at the top of your feed.

The content you post.

This is extremely important because it doesn’t matter how consistently you post on social media if what you’re posting is of no value to anyone. People will scroll past your content and no one will engage with it, if it doesn’t mean anything to them. Think about who has liked your page and why they would have done so. You can then try and assemble videos and images to suit those on your page. The more you appear on their feeds and stick in their mind, the more likely they are to hire you when the time comes!In regards to the algorithms mentioned above:

Facebook content should be something that generates comments or “reactions” to show the algorithm it is a worthwhile piece of content.

Instagram content again, should be something that generates likes or comments from people. However, you also need to interact with your followers in order to build relationships so the algorithm deems those followers important and worth showing your content to.

Twitter content should be posted at times your followers are active like morning, lunch or evening so it is at the top of their feed as a recent update.

Marketplaces

There are plenty of platforms out there that help you find work, like Goodnest. These are online booking platforms that connect customers with professionals - ranging from electricians and plumbers to handymen and gardeners. What separates Goodnest from other booking platforms is the all encompassing, holistic approach. Goodnest handles everything including all marketing, customer support, and payments. There’s a dedicated team looking after technology development including mobile applications and constant website improvement to top quality customer support personnel making sure everyone is happy. As a tradesperson on the platform, you have access to all jobs that are booked by a customer within your area allowing you to choose jobs as you please. You control your schedule! There’s NO marketing or administrative cost to you and adding your trade business to the platform is super quick and free. After a quick application process you’ll have access to an abundance of jobs that are sure to keep you busy.

Hopefully this has given you a rough guide to finding, and keeping work in the current, tough, and ever-changing market. With technology constantly evolving you’ve got to stay on top of things to stay relevant. Stay vigilant! This blog was written by Hamish Graham, the social media marketer for Goodnest, an on-demand home services booking platform based.